Open Source

Thank you for your prayers.

I was going to make a big announcement in mid-October.
Both Substack and my previous hosting company
threw surprises at me this week,
and I had to make some changes,
and my announcement is coming early.

I greatly respect
arts leader and thinker
Andrew Simonet.

Over the years
I find the folks outside the Christian arts world
tend to be a lot closer to the Kingdom
than many ministry leaders.
The folks in the real world
understand that a lot of
what we do is life and death.
They take it seriously
and they don't play games.

Andrew Simonet recently wrote about
the difference between an arts non-profit
and a movement.

You can insert "ministry" in the place of non-profit.

And he talked about being "Open Source"
with his ideas and resources.
In other words,
making his ideas available
for free.

There is a huge difference
between building a ministry,
building the Kingdom,
and starting a movement.

Another way to talk about this,
is in the context of Jesus
sending out the twelve.
"Freely you have received,
Freely give."

My experience in ministry since the 1990's
is with an adulterous church
having an affair with the marketplace.

About a month ago
I was praying about the next steps
for me and Belonging House.
And as I read Andrew Simonet's email,
I prayed about this idea
of being "Open Source."

Yes,
what would it look like
if a ministry or leader
gave it all away?

What would it look like if I
didn't require you to sign up for my class,
become part of my club,
or jump over my hurdle?

What if I gave you my wisdom and knowledge
and let you take that and apply it
and share it with others,
any way you like?

In other words,
rather than making you come to me my way,
what if I was generous
and let you
take me
wherever you want to go?

The only way we are going to get out of the
Christian bubble
and really make a difference
is if we set the tails
of a thousand foxes on fire
and let them run through the fields
setting everything alight.

It's a risk I am willing to take.

You may notice
this email looks better today.
Substack killed all my links last week,
and I decided it was time to change.

They won't let authors share links to their books.

I have switched the Friday email to Ghost,
an open source publishing platform.
They have been wonderful during the transition.

By Thanksgiving we should be able to provide
free downloadable books and other resources for anyone
who wants to be a disciple and an artist.

These emails will be available at belonginghouse.org,
and they will always be free.
Share this with your friends.

And of course,
if you want to invest and help keep me going,
there is a streamlined way to give below.
Buymeacoffee took a hefty percentage,
and so does Patreon.

The link below is a built in tip jar.
Let's start a movement.

Those who disciple the arts
will disciple the nations.

He Never Fails,